Zomugu Village, Shangri La

Potala Palace, Lhasa

Boatmen on the West Lake, Hangzhou

Sera Debating

Unique China

If you have seen the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, Tiananmen Square and the Bund in Shanghai, you may think you have seen China..think again.

This time, start your visit in Chengdu where you can visit the Panda Research Institute and sample some true Sichuan cuisine. A little outside the city itself is Sanxingdui, where you will find some of the most mysterious archaeological discoveries if the 20th Century. Believed to date back from the third millennium BC, the site features cast bronze “sacred trees” and a series of mysterious, gold-plated bronze masks.

In Lijiang visit a Daoist monk to learn about Ideological matters and the energy forces of Ying and Yang. Lijiang was once a dangerous, bandit infested spot on the Tea and Horse Caravan route, now it is a more idyllic town influenced by the Naxi ethnic group.

Continue to the remote Tibetan valley of Shangri-La, the serenity of the landscape and people gives no clue to the area’s rather turbulent history.

Visit a local village to appreciate to-ings and fro-ings of their daily life and traditions, continue to Lhasa but remember to take it easy, at 12,000 feet above sea level it really does take your breath away! Learn about Tibetan art and religious life before the highlight of your trip… Potala Palace. The stunning red and white Winter Palace watches over the growing city below and speaks of the remoteness and former might of Tibet. The golden tombs of past Dalai Lamas are beautiful and extremely valuable.

End your trip on another high note with a view of religious life at the Jokhang Monastery where Tibetan pilgrims display their intense devotion and the red robed monks leave a lasting impression of knowledge and serenity.